Bio-On and AkzoNobel Continue Collaborative Relationship

by Dom Wiseman

December 13, 2017

Thanks to excellent results achieved with the Synergistic Fouling Control Technologies-SEAFRONT project (Grant Agreement 614034), Bio-on and International Paint Ltd. (AkzoNobel) have agreed to continue their relationship beyond the close of the Project.

The collaboration is aimed at continuing the investigation in the use of Bio-on’s biodegradable and bio-based polymers as components in anti fouls products designed to control and prevent the accumulation of marine organisms on boats, ships, tidal power plants and other aquatic installations.

Bio-on is a leading Italian biotechnology company in the bioplastic sector while AkzoNobel, is a worldwide leader in the Marine, Protective Coatings, and Yacht markets.

“This collaboration is strategically attractive to AkzoNobel as it offers the potential to develop new biobased products which will strengthen our position as world leaders in high performance and sustainable coatings,” says David Williams, R&D Director, Marine Coatings, AkzoNobel.

“We are particularly proud and happy with the decision to continue working with AkzoNobel for two main reasons,” says Marco Astorri, Bio-on’s CEO and Chairman. First of all because we will continue to work with some of the best researchers in the chemical industry and secondly because we will be able to demonstrate further the amazing application possibilities of our biopolymers.”

“These results and continued cooperation are good examples of the many valuable outcomes of the SEAFRONT Project, which started in 2014 and will end this year,” says Arie Brouwer of the Dutch Polymer Institute and coordinator of the SEAFRONT Project. “In SEAFRONT a consortium of 19 companies and knowledge institutes are working together in a unique way on anti-fouling solutions for marine applications. The consortium can be proud that they have successfully achieved the main objectives such as creating surfaces which reduce hydrodynamic drag by 5% and, thanks to the excellent work of Bio-on and AkzoNobel, generated very good results for new fouling control coatings utilising bio-based polymers.”